First way: Rudy genuinely doesn’t realize that taking a phone call in the middle of a speech is rude. But this suggests a lack of emotional intelligence so stunning that even I don’t think Rudy is capable of it — and that’s saying a lot.
Second way: He knows it’s rude, but has somehow convinced himself that it’s a political winner despite the repeated entreaties of his staff. I dunno. I guess it’s possible.
Third way: He and Judy are literally so enthralled with each other that he can’t stand to shut off the phone for even a few minutes. If he were 17 I might buy it. At age 63 it suggests codependency issues so severe he ought to be on medication.
Fourth way: Judy has told him in no uncertain terms that he’d better take her calls 24/7. Rudy is so terrified of her that he’s given in on this.
Fifth way: He’s so enormously full of himself that he doesn’t think the ordinary rules of common courtesy apply to him. This strikes me as quite plausible.
Overall, this is one of the weirdest damn things I’ve heard in a long time. Does Rudy take calls during television interviews? On radio call-in shows? In meetings with his staff? Does Judy really require this level of emotional sustenance? What the hell is going on?

Rudy is rude. His handlers are as blind to his insanity as he is.
When ‘Ahnold’ won as California’s governor he had a ready-made political machine in the form of Pete Wilson’s organization which had been waiting to return to power.
Imagine what would come into power if Rudy took the White House. (And consider that Cheney will continue to run his secret government long after January of 2009.)

DS got it right. Just about all of the headlines from the NRA speech are about the cell phone call and not his previous support for gun control. While the call was rude, it shows a creative intellect that is able to accurately predict the media response.